Myanmar steps up defense industry, buys fighter jets made in Pakistan
Although the military rule in Myanmar is coming to an end, the country has been drastically expanding its defense capabilities in the recent past, reports show. The government in Naypyitaw ordered a fleet of Chinese-designed fighter jets worth more than half a billion US dollars from Pakistan last year, Israeli online defense magazine Defense Update reported.
Myanmar placed an order last year for 16 JF-17 Thunder jets, each worth $35 million, the January 11 report said, adding that Myanmar was the first country to order the jets from Pakistan. Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Egypt and Malaysia are reportedly also interested in the “affordable” jet, although at least the latter’s defense ministry denied it.
The JF-17 Thunder jet was designed and developed by state-run Aviation Industry Corporation of China to meet the Pakistani requirement for lightweight and affordable supersonic fighter jet. They are currently produced for the Pakistani Air Force by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, a major aerospace, defense and aviation contractor in northern Punjab producing aircraft and aviation systems for both military and civilian use. The company produced a total of 16 JF-17 Block-II Thunder aircraft in 2015.
In other news, Myanmar’s defense industrial capabilities are expected to be boosted by the transfer of a number of heavy manufacturing facilities previously owned by the country’s Ministry of Industry to the Ministry of Defense.
According to a memo published by the Ministry of Industry on its Facebook page on December 7, the factories, which are currently underutilised, would be transferred to the Ministry of Defense “to improve the country’s industrial development and defense strategy.”
The President’s Office reportedly approved the transfer and the deputy industry minister and officials from the Defense Ministry confirmed it at the end of December 2015.
Government officials were quoted as saying that the Ministry of Defense was expected to “make better use” of the factories, among which are factories No 10 in Yangon, No 12 in Htonebo, No 13 in Magway, No 25 in Myaing and a truck axle factory in Myingyan.
Although the military rule in Myanmar is coming to an end, the country has been drastically expanding its defense capabilities in the recent past, reports show. The government in Naypyitaw ordered a fleet of Chinese-designed fighter jets worth more than half a billion US dollars from Pakistan last year, Israeli online defense magazine Defense Update reported. Myanmar placed an order last year for 16 JF-17 Thunder jets, each worth $35 million, the January 11 report said, adding that Myanmar was the first country to order the jets from Pakistan. Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Egypt and Malaysia are reportedly also interested...
Although the military rule in Myanmar is coming to an end, the country has been drastically expanding its defense capabilities in the recent past, reports show. The government in Naypyitaw ordered a fleet of Chinese-designed fighter jets worth more than half a billion US dollars from Pakistan last year, Israeli online defense magazine Defense Update reported.
Myanmar placed an order last year for 16 JF-17 Thunder jets, each worth $35 million, the January 11 report said, adding that Myanmar was the first country to order the jets from Pakistan. Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Egypt and Malaysia are reportedly also interested in the “affordable” jet, although at least the latter’s defense ministry denied it.
The JF-17 Thunder jet was designed and developed by state-run Aviation Industry Corporation of China to meet the Pakistani requirement for lightweight and affordable supersonic fighter jet. They are currently produced for the Pakistani Air Force by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, a major aerospace, defense and aviation contractor in northern Punjab producing aircraft and aviation systems for both military and civilian use. The company produced a total of 16 JF-17 Block-II Thunder aircraft in 2015.
In other news, Myanmar’s defense industrial capabilities are expected to be boosted by the transfer of a number of heavy manufacturing facilities previously owned by the country’s Ministry of Industry to the Ministry of Defense.
According to a memo published by the Ministry of Industry on its Facebook page on December 7, the factories, which are currently underutilised, would be transferred to the Ministry of Defense “to improve the country’s industrial development and defense strategy.”
The President’s Office reportedly approved the transfer and the deputy industry minister and officials from the Defense Ministry confirmed it at the end of December 2015.
Government officials were quoted as saying that the Ministry of Defense was expected to “make better use” of the factories, among which are factories No 10 in Yangon, No 12 in Htonebo, No 13 in Magway, No 25 in Myaing and a truck axle factory in Myingyan.
ျမန္မာ့တပ္မေတာ္ႀကီးအစဥ္တိုးတက္ပါေစ